WELCOME TO MOUNT ST JOSEPH. CONNECTING JESUITS AND FRIENDS

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Memorable Moments - My Regency Experience

Sch Rajesh D'Souza shares with us his experiences of Regency at MSJ: It is beautifully said, "If you want something which you never had before, do something which you never had done before.....". Without having any first-hand information, I began my regency with love, dedication and selfless desire to serve the poor. In the process, my desire redoubled and God kept on guiding me. I was totally spell bound when I interacted with the children and youth in the School, College and Parish. I realized that they lack 'opportunities' in life but they are very friendly, creative and motivated to come up in life. They have taught me precious lessons in life. I am indebted to God and all these children and people.
How sweet and enchanting these Loyola buds are - though they are materially poor, the children are rich in human qualities and have a deep desire to learn. Our Master Jesus served the least, the last and the lost of our society. I too am inspired to give my best to the mission I am entrusted with. I felt all through the year that it was God's plan and opportunity for me to experience what poverty is. I am ready and willing to walk the extra mile in life ..... hoping for the better.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Holy Week Services in the Parish

Maundy Thursday (01/04/2010)
5.00 pm : Mass of the Lord’s Supper in the Parish (Kannada)
7.00 pm : Mass of the Lord’s Supper in the Parish (English)

Good Friday (02/04/2010)
8.30 am : Stations of the Cross in the Parish (English)
3.00 pm : Stations of the Cross in the Parish (Kannada)
4.00 pm : Celebration of the Lord’s Passion (Kannada)
6.30 pm : Celebration of the Lord’s Passion (English)

Holy Saturday (03/04/2010)
8.30 am : Coming down the Mount of Calvary with Mother Mary
7.00 pm : Easter Vigil Service in the Parish (Kannada)
9.30 pm : Easter Vigil Service in the Parish (English)

Easter Sunday (04/04/2010)
7.00 am : Easter Mass in the Parish (English)
8.30 am : Easter Mass in the Parish (Kannada)

Friday, March 26, 2010

Interview with Fr Frigidian Shenoy SJ

Interview with Fr Frigidian Shenoy (Golden Jubilarian of Priesthood) by Novice George Pinto

(1)What are your feelings as you are celebrating the Golden Jubilee of Priesthood?

I am extremely happy & grateful to God because He gave me a long stretch of time to prove my life & love for him.

(2) Your message for the Priests as the Church celebrates this year as the ‘Year of Priests’?

A Priest must be a man of God. He should be able to bring people to God and God to people.

(3) What do you cherish most as a Jesuit?

The Society of Jesus has taken great care of me in order to be a loyal servant of Christ Jesus.

(4) You have been involved in a variety of ministries - Tell us in what different ministries can the Jesuits involve in today’s world?

There are several ministries appropriate to our time and context.

a) I consider as the top-most ministry is ‘Preaching the Good News’ so that the people come to know God and they learn to listen & obey His Word.

b) ‘Administration of the Sacraments’ - Christ chooses the Priest as an instrument to sanctify His people through His own Sacraments.

c) A Priest is ordained to celebrate the Eucharist on behalf of Christ Himself for His people.

(5) Your message to the Jesuits of Karnataka? What are the different Apostolates in which can we engage ourselves today differently?

Modern world needs different expressions in our work. Jesuits of Karnataka already have undertaken the ministry of education, especially higher education, technical education, education qualifying young men to be fully employed. Communication Media is now a powerful tool in the secular world but not for the Jesuits of our Province. The possibility of Jesuits engaging in Mass Media in a big way for an effective Evangelization must be explored.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Fr Frigidian Shenoy - Golden Jubilarian of Priesthood

It was a joyous day for the MSJ community to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Priesthood of Fr Frigidian Shenoy in the Society of Jesus. We, the Jesuits, along with the relatives of Fr Shenoy raised our minds & hearts to praise God for the precious gift of Fr Shenoy to the Society of Jesus. During the Eucharist, Fr Provincial through his homily enlightened all of us on the role of a Priest in today’s context & conflicting world. We greeted Fr Shenoy in a short felicitation programme. Fr Terence Farias raised the golden toast in his own inimitable style. The sparkling stars & blooming buds, our Novices, entertained & enlightened the audience through a meaningful mime. Fr Shenoy, filled with immense gratitude to the Lord and all people, expressed his heart-felt sentiments. A sumptuous fellowship meal increased our bond of companionship.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

A Special Lenten Fast!

Give up harsh words: Use generous ones.
Give up unhappiness: Take up gratitude.
Give up anger: Take up gentleness & patience.
Give up pessimism: Take up hope and optimism.
Give up worrying: Take up trust in God.
Give up complaining: Value what you have.
Give up stress: Take up prayer.
Give up judging others: Discover Jesus within them.
Give up sorrow & bitterness: Fill your heart with joy.
Give up selfishness: Take up compassion for others.
Give up being unforgiving: Learn reconciliation.
Give up words: Fill yourself with silence, & listen to others.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Happy Feast of St Joseph

We Wish all of you a very HAPPY FEAST OF ST JOSEPH - the Patron of our Mount St Joseph Community & of countless Institutions all over the world.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Pro-Life: Our Life is a Gift of God

PRAVEEN: If God has created us so wonderfully how can we destroy it so carelessly by abortion, suicide, euthanasia, so on & so forth? This was the question that I asked myself when Fr Lukose CMI took the course on 'Preserving life.' So it is everybody’s responsibility to protect, promote and preserve human life.

DOLWIN: Human life is a precious gift of God and we are called to celebrate life in our families & communities. This course was a call to preserve life and nature. God wants to be like Jesus who is the master of promoting life. God wants to be happy always in our life. The destruction of nature and human life is against pro-life. Jesus' life was full of celebration by becoming fully human and fully alive.

GEORGE: In Psalm 139, the Psalmist explains the importance of life. He says “for it is God who formed my inward parts, for He has made so fearfully and wonderfully & God is always with me wherever I go.” These are the touching words, which made me recognize the value of human life. Every human being is created by God. God has also given us the freedom. It is our responsibility to make the best use of it along with the values of human life. We should always walk towards the ultimate goal of human life & give glory to God always.

VEERAJ: “If a building is destroyed, it can be rebuilt; but when human life is lost, it is lost forever.” This was a thought that came up during the 3-day Inter-Novitiate Course on 'Pro-Life.' Human life is the greatest gift that God gives and we belong to God alone. Let us love ourselves and love everyone - ‘live and let live' needs to be our motto in preserving life.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Let's Build a World of Love & Peace!

JAISON: "Love is the gate for all problems of the Universe.” Novices were much benefited through the course on "Fundamentalism & Inter-Religious Dialogue" by Fr Terence Farias SJ. The topic 'fundamentalism' is often heard and discussed in our country. Religious Fundamentalism has created detrimental effects on human life by which there is a threat for everyone’s survival. Love is destroyed and hatred is restored in the hearts of the people. Today let us join our hands together to fight for the human rights and tackle the spread of the evil called religious fundamentalism.

RYAN: I had a great desire to learn about the Hindutva Ideology in addition to Christian Fundamentalism. This course has laid a solid foundation to understand this topic in a better way. What we need in today's world, particularly in our Country, is a meaningful dialogue between different religions. We need to make efforts to understand the effects of religious fundamentalism. Awareness of our context and history helps us in this venture. We must realize that, ‘we too have sinned’ as John Paul II said on 12th March 2000. My vision for humankind is that we build a peace loving and more humane society.

Monday, March 8, 2010

'Friends of Mother Earth' - To Go Green!

Vermin composting is one of the ways of converting bio-degrable waste into useful manure, using earthworms as the vermin. It is a simple technique to produce quality manure within a short time. It is also Eco-friendly. We have started this project in our MSJ Campus heeding the call to restore right relationship with creation (GC 35) Usage of this manure has brought a tremendous change in our gardens. It has fostered the growth of plants and has deepened our love for creation and the Creator.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Weekly Ministry - A treasure of Experiences

MARK: “Duty makes us to do things well but love makes us to do it beautifully.” The Saturday ministry is an opportunity for me to go beyond myself to reach out to the needy. Our prayer should flow into action. I do my ministry in our Loyola ITI & High School to help the students in their studies. When I help the students, I learn a lot from them. This experience helps me to see God in the innocent faces of those children. They feel very free to share their problems with me. And I give my best to console them in whatever way I could. Ministry helps me to know the reality of the world. Above all, it makes me a contemplative in action & strengthens my vocation.

SHANTHRAJ: I am laboring with Christ in His vineyard. My ministry has taught me to listen to the inner cries of the people and children. In Hakki-Pikki colony (tribals), I see God's love revealed in their lives. I believe that only God guides them and sustains them.

JOEL: “Our prayer should not be like stagnant water rather it should be like an ever- flowing river.” These words summarize my ministry. I go to a place called Shilindrana Dhodi, a village which is poor & underdeveloped. But the people and children are very loving, caring and feel free to share their joys and sorrows. ‘God has a plan to every one of us and to fulfill it He shows us different ways.’ Today I feel God has created me to accomplish Jesus' dream on the earth by becoming a co-creator in His planet through the Saturday ministry.